


Ebony Mantle's Ghosts

by Imperfect_Apollo



Category: South Park
Genre: Craig is questioning why the hell he allows Stan and Kyle to drag him around to do shit, Except he blames himself for their deaths, Gen, He regrets it, Kenny and Tweek are ghosts, Kenny is a cocky happy boi, Murder, Tweek is a shy ghosty boi, ghost au, they don't care
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 23:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13282542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imperfect_Apollo/pseuds/Imperfect_Apollo
Summary: Craig didn't believe in any of the supernational. To him, it was all made up. He had to admit though. A small part of him wanted it all to be true. It'd be a nice change of pace to his life.So maybe that's why he agreed to go with Kyle and Stan to a supposedly haunted hotel. He never expected to become friends with a dead delivery boy and a kitchen helper.





	1. Chapter 1

Three pairs of footsteps echoed through the old abandoned hotel. Pale yellow beams gently scanned the room, revealing the dust and graffiti-covered interior. The three teens were there for one reason. 

"This has to be the dumbest thing you two have convinced me to do."

"Craig this isn't dumb. This place is _haunted!_ "

"Broflovski for the last fucking time, ghosts aren't real. They're just made-up bullshit. You and Marsh are just stupid for believing in this stuff. God, why do I let you two drag me around." 

"Craig stop it." 

Craig Tucker. The goal of this overnight trip was to get the teen to believe in the supernatural. The Ebony Mantle Hotel was supposedly haunted by the spirits of a teen and the two men who murdered him. There were rumours of a second teen but there was no proof of his existence. 

It had been Kyle's idea to spend the night at the hotel. Stan had agreed with him quickly and with the offer of money and insults, Craig had reluctantly come along. However, he said it was to prove that he wasn't a pussy and that he just wanted to see the other's faces when they were proven wrong. He wasn't about to admit that he was interested in seeing where the night would lead. He didn't want to admit that there was a small part of him was hopeful that they would be right.

Stan gently set his backpack down on the nearby table before sitting down, coughing softly at the dust that blew up when he sat down on one of the old seats. 

"So. I was thinking we set up in the room that those teens supposedly died in and see if we can contact them." 

"Craig you came with us, you're staying. Unless your chicken." 

"Fuck off Stan." The black-haired teen flipped up his famous middle finger, only getting a sigh and two pairs of eyes rolling dramatically as an answer. "Besides, how do you know what room these teens were supposedly 'murdered' in?"

"Kyle went to the library and found newspapers." 

"So he was a major nerd again and spent a shit ton of time scanning old papers in hopes of finding something so you two could drag me here."

The redheaded Jew roughly shoved Craig with a huff. "Can you stop being an asshole and just roll with this?" Shaking his head, he pulled out a copy of a news article out of his backpack. "Okay, so the room was one of the staff bedrooms. They're located on the top floor. The one we're looking for is room 189. It was the room of Kenneth McCormick. He along with his best friend Tweek Tweak was murdered by two escapees from a nearby prison."

Craig took the piece of paper and scanned his eyes over it before tossing it over his shoulder. "Kenneth McCormick? Tweek Tweak? Jesus those are stupid as fuck names." 

"Is it just me or did the temperature drop?"

"Oh noooo. Did I upset the precious little ghosties? Oh no, whatever shall we do? Now Stan is cold." 

"Craig for fuck's sake." Stan stood up, grabbing the discarded paper, slapping Craig over the back of the head as he moved back to his bag. "Let's just go up okay?" 

Soft footsteps filled the building again as the three teens started to walk up the stairs, listening to them creaking ominously underfoot.

"So what even happened? All the information you've given us Kyle is that some teens were killed before their killers were killed as they tried to escape." 

"That's all the information I could gather actually. No matter how hard I looked, all I could find were the names of the boys and their roles in this hotel. Tweek apparently helped out in the kitchen and Kenneth ran deliveries and stuff." 

"Lame." 

"Craig stop being an ass."

A few minutes passed by and they were finally on the top floor. The three split up, Kyle and Stan going down one hall as Craig took the other, swinging his flashlight over the room doors with a bored look on his face.

"Oh look. The murder room. Fun." The lanky teen lightly kicked the door open. "Oh wow. Spoopy. God, I can't believe I let these two talk me into this." He sighed as his deadpan voice filled the small room, disturbing the silence. "God damn it Tucker." 

He dropped his bag in the middle of the bag, looking around the room. With a huff, Craig turned back around and started walking back down the hall to find the other two boys. 

The blue-hatted teen found the two after a few minutes. "Alright, you useless homosexuals. I found the spooky room. Stop making out now and follow me." 

"We weren't even kissing! Hell, we weren't even in contact with each other!" 

"Babe relax. Craig's just jealous because he's single." 

"Fuck off Stan."

Rolling his eyes, Craig spun around on his heel and started to walk off, offering the two boys his famous trademark middle finger. 

Ignoring the voices behind him, Craig took the lead back to the death place of two teenagers. "Remind me why we're spending the night in a room where two guys were killed?"

"Because this will give us a better chance to contact them. They're most likely to at least be on this floor and in the room. Though Tweek could be in the kitchen considering that's where he worked." 

"Oh my god. We're not going to be speaking to any ghosts because ghosts aren't real. Get that through your heads."

Lightly tossing his flashlight from hand to hand, letting the light bounce around the hall, ignoring the irritated murmurs coming from behind him. 

"Look. Here's the spooky room." The lanky teen stretched before setting his flashlight down so he could unpack his things. 

A few minutes later, all three teens were sitting on their sleeping bags. 

"Okay. So let's begin."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I can't be bothered looking up old language so looks like we have modern speaking ghosts. Also, I can't figure out what time period Tweek and Kenny should be from.

Digging through his bag, Stan pulled a small box like contraption. "Okay, so this spirit box should help us talk to them."

"A box...." 

"It basically just scans through radio waves super fast and creates white noise so they can speak. Also, it's loud."

The teen turned it on, causing the others to jump as the loud noise filled the air. 

"Jesus fuck. No wonder they'll supposedly talk. It's probably pissing them off if they exist."

Ignoring Craig, Kyle cleared his throat. "If someone is here with us. Give us a sign."

A faint knock sounded through the room, causing the boys to flinch slightly. Craig sighed. "One of us moved. That or it's the building. This place is old." 

_"Look at these three."_

Craig's normal blank face faltered into a shocked look for a few seconds before he shook his head. "Okay. Who did you record?"

"We didn't. This goes through radio stations, Tucker. We can't put anything recorded on it!" 

"Fine. Yo ghost. What colour is my hat?" 

For a few seconds, the only sound came from the static of the spirit box and the teen's slightly startled breathing.

_"Blue....With a yellow ball."_

The teens looked at each other. 

_"We killed them."_

Stan looked at the other two. "Guys..." 

_"It was easy."_

Kyle swallowed, leaning forward to turn off the box. 

_"Wait no plea-"_

All three teens breathed a sigh of relief when deafening silence.

"Dude. This? This is fucked up." 

"Let's just go home guys." 

Craig shook his head. "You guys dragged me here. We're staying. Besides. Wasn't the last voice a new one? A younger one?" The tall boy crossed his arms, watching the other two look at each other. He sighed and leaned over, turning it back on.

Stan took his hat off, running his hand through his hair. "Okay. To the last voice. Who are we speaking to?"

The three waited nervously, looking at the sprit box.

_"My name?_

Craig sighed. "No shit dumbass." 

_"Kenneth McCormick. I go by Kenny. My name is not 'stupid as fuck' Craig Tucker."_

At the sound of a snort, Craig sent a glare towards Kyle. "Shut it Broflovski. Your name is worse." 

"Dude. No need to be snappy towards Kyle." 

"Did I offend your boyfriend Sta-" 

_"You two are boyfriends? Is that allowed?"_

"Nowadays it is. A lot of people still look down on it but it's widely accepted." 

_"Nice."_

"Okay, so we've got a chill ghost? Sweet." Stan grinned before nodding to himself before taking a deep breath. "Is there someone else in this hotel? Other than the two men we spoke to before you." 

A few seconds of silence passed, causing the living to wonder if the dead had simply left the room.

_"Yes. Tweek is in the hotel."_

"Do you think we can ta-"

_"No. He won't want to talk to you. Your very presence has scared him into hiding."_

"Just being here?" 

_"He finds it hard to trust new people. Plus you haven't sounded the friendliest Craig."_

Kyle snickered. "Craig's always been a dick. We can kick him out to see if that'll make your friend more comfortable." 

"Oi. You two dragged me here for the night. Besides, Tricia will be a smug bitch if I go home. I don't want her to think I'm scared or something." 

"I don't know who is more of a bitch. You or your sister." 

"Tricia." 

_"This is interesting and all, but even if Mr Tall Ass is gone, Tweek probably wouldn't come out. He's always been nervous around new people. Besides, this is the only time you three are going to be here right? You're not going to be able to speak to him."_

"We can always come back. It'd be nice to earn his trust. Plus it'd be nice to get to know you, Kenny." 

_"That...That could work. I'll talk to him later about it. I'll see if he'd be okay with you frequenting our home....However, Jason and Maxwell won't be happy."_

"Jason and Maxwell? I'm guessing the-"

_"Yes. They have been here since Tweek and I have been left here. They haven't left. We do our best to ignore them, though it's hard when you've been trapped in the same place for years."_

"Well, that's not a surprise." 

"Craig!" 

"What it's true!" 

A static sounding laugh sounded. _"I like this guy."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really lame because I had no idea what to put but hey. Kenny's backstory is revealed and we get a tiny bit of Tweek being there.
> 
> Also, this chapter is super dialogue heavy so there's that. 
> 
> Enjoy!

"Hey, Kenny. What was your life like?"

_"Honestly? Bad. At the start at least. Ma and Pa were drunks and would take drugs. My older brother left when I was young. He couldn't deal with it. We were poor and our parents were fighting every day. Keven used to fight Pa as well which didn't help. Got the attention off me though. He ended up drinking as well in an attempt to cope. Think Ma and Pa forgot about me after he left."_

"Dude. That's fucking horrible."

_"Eh it's how things were back then."_

"What happened to Keven?"

_"I have no idea. Idiot probably drank himself to death or ended up in prison. Hopefully not but there's a high chance that it happened."_

"Damn that sucks."

_"Eh. Them's the breaks. I learnt how to be alone. I was going to leave myself but then Ma fell pregnant again. I really miss Karen. She was the best little sister someone could have."_

"Can't relate, my sister's annoying."

"Craig for fuck's sake."

_"It's okay. But yeah. Karen was the best. We were one of, if not the poorest family in town but she never asked for anything. If she found money, she'd never spend it on herself. She'd save it so she could buy things for her friends and me."_

"She sounds awesome."

_"Yeah. Unfortunately, she got sick like so many other children did. We couldn't afford the medicine and she passed over."_

"Oh."

_"There wasn't much we could do sadly. She was lucky and didn't suffer too much. After she died, I stayed home for a little before finally leaving."_

"Damn that's harsh."

_"Yeah but what can you do? Besides, she told me to leave and make something for myself, get myself a good job. However, it took me a while to actually get a job. At first, I joined many of the street rats and became a tea leaf."_

"A what now?" Craig stared at the spirit box before looking at his friends in confusion. As he expected, Kyle spoke up before Kenny could answer his question.

"A tea leaf is a thief." 

"Then why not say that?"

_"We said both really. Calling someone a thief was somewhat like saying they were bad at the job and got caught easily....I like many others did it to survive. Almost got caught a few times....Karen would be so disappointed in me."_

"She'd probably understand Kenny. After all, you had to survive."

_"I guess. Anyway, eventually, someone spotted me running and offered me a job. A respectful one at that. I became a runner. I finally had a proper use for my speed and running deliveries wasn't too bad. Got some good money for it as well. The company even had a place for all their employees to live so I didn't have to worry about that. Eventually, the company shut down but I had made some deliveries to this hotel and the people in charge liked me so they gave me the job which I had until I died. Obviously."_

"Why did the company shut down?"

_"Apparently the owner's were involved in some shady business."_

"Well, that makes sense I guess. A lot of business' were involved in shady shit back then."

"Stan they still are now. Hell, we've been involved in a fuck ton of shady shit." 

_"What sort of things have you guys done?"_

"Well South Park is shady in general so there's that. These losers and another kid got me stuck in another country because they wanted to make a stupid Peruvian pan flute band."

"We said we were sorry."

"I lost my $100!" 

"We were young as well. Stop being an ass."

"The town was attacked by giant guinea pigs! I had to save this useless town."

Before they could continue arguing, the same static like laughter from before sounded again. That wasn't the thing that made them fall completely into silence, however. The thing that silenced them was the sound of footsteps moving away from their side, heading towards the door.

Kenny's voice came out of the spirit box as a soft murmur, just loud enough for the tool to pick up.  
_"I understand. It's okay. Yeah. They're just staying for a little bit. They're not going to do anything wrong. It's good to see you up here. Didn't expect to see you up here so quickly."_

The three teens stayed deathly silent, straining to hear another voice. They could only pick up Kenny's voice. Instead of looking at the box, they turned their attention to the visibly empty doorway.

Before they could say anything, however, they heard footsteps racing back down the hall. Footsteps came back towards them. 

"Was that?"

_"Yeah that was Tweek. He wanted to make sure I was alright. He's paranoid that you three will somehow find a way to get rid of me, leaving him stuck alone with Jason and Maxwell. He didn't expect you all to look over at where we were so he got scared and ran off."_

"Well, we didn't even know this would work. Hell Craig didn't even believe the supernatural was real until now."

_"I could sorta tell by the way he was acting."_

"We all just gonna talk about me like I'm not here? Okay cool." Rolling his eyes, Craig checked his phone before sighing. "Hang on. Aren't you meant to see ghosts? Like some misty form or something?"

"Life isn't a movie Craig."

_"There is a way for us to be visible but it takes energy from the living._

"What?"

_"I can take some of your energy. With enough, I can make a form that you guys can see. I did it all the time when I was younger by accident because the place was still in business. Ended up doing it on purpose a few times for laughs."_

"Wow. That's what I'd do." 

"I'm pretty sure nearly everyone would. Getting to mess with people without consequences would be awesome."

"How much energy would you have to take?"

_"A bit. You guys won't pass out or anything but you'll probably feel tired. I can do it while you sleep. If you guys come here enough, it won't affect you so much and I won't have to be right next to you. All you'd have to do would be entering the building."_

"That sounds sorta cool....So it won't hurt?"

_"Hasn't ever hurt anyone that I know of."_

"Sweet. So if we go to sleep, we'll be able to see you when we wake?" 

_"That's the idea."_

"Well, let's do it when we fall asleep." 

The gang of three were excited. Not only had they made contact with some ghosts, they now had the chance to see one.

Time passed, the boys telling Kenny what the world was like now, the dead boy listening intensely to how much had changed, offering questions. He mentally listed everything in his head. 

Looking up, he grinned, seeing a face peering from the doorway. He was glad to see Tweek was there, listening just like he was. He watched his best friend's facial expressions change the more the three talked. 

Knowing Tweek wouldn't come any closer, he didn't bother to wave him over. Realizing that the spirit box laying in front of them couldn't pick up the other blond, he simply repeated the boy's questions.

Eventually, one by one, Stan, Kyle and Craig fell asleep, the box being switched off to let silence fill the air.

_"They actually don't seem that bad."_

_"Yeah. They're even letting me use their energy to show what I look like. Do you want to as well?"_

_"No thanks. I don't think I'm ready to make contact with them. You have fun though. Besides, it'd probably annoy them if I join you."_

_"I don't think they would but it's okay. You don't have to make contact with them at all."_

_"Thanks, Ken. I'll be in my room if you want me."_

Nodding and waving goodbye to his friend, Kenny turned his attention back to the three sleeping forms. He wasn't surprised that Tweek wasn't ready to let the boys know about him. The other had always been somewhat shy. Shaking his head to get the thoughts out of his head, he settled down next to the three, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths before focusing on the energy swirling through the air.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Tweek and Kenny interaction! Also, Kenny is visible now!

Kenny was feeling anxious. It had been so long since he had taken a physical form. That fact wasn't that surprising as no one came to the abandoned hotel anymore. The boys were the first ones in over a year. 

As the blond waited for the three to wake up, he poked around through their stuff. With enough energy from the three teens, he could touch things, which gave him the perfect opportunity to raid their things to see what they had brought. 

The small box that lit up was strange. Looking from the screen and towards his new friends, he guessed this must be the smartphone they had told him about. 

Shrugging, he put it back, going back to raiding thing. The young ghost picked up a blue hat, slipping it on. "Jeez Tucker. You've got a lame taste in hats." 

He shook his head, hearing a snort coming from the doorway as the blue hat slipped over his eyes. Lifting it up he grinned, waving at his best friend. 

"You look stupid Ken." Tweek laughed softly as he silently walked over to sit next to him, nervously shuffling as Stan rolled over. 

"You okay?" Kenny admittedly was worried. He knew how bad Tweek's anxiety could get. The only time he had seen him confident around strangers was when he had been behind the counter when they were alive, but that was mostly because he didn't have to speak with them for too long. 

"Yeah...I'll probably leave when they wake up. Unless you want me to stay."

"Tweek I don't want you to force yourself to stay if it makes you uncomfortable okay?"

A grateful smile passed over the younger blond's face. He knew that Kenny wouldn't force him out of his comfort zone. Part of him was tempted to just suck it up and stay but the idea of having to be near them when they were awake was worrying him slightly. 

He bit his lip, looking around the room. "I might stay for a little. If it gets too much I'll leave." He laughed softly and grinned as the teen he saw as the brother he never had pulled him close, ruffling his hair.

"As long as you're comfortable." Kenny cared a lot about the younger boy. He knew what it was like to be without family, having lost his own. Part of him hated seeing Tweek. He didn't hate the other, but it reminded him of how he died. How he failed to protect Tweek from death. He felt responsible for his best friend's death. 

A sleepy noise from Kyle dragged him from his thoughts before he could be swallowed by them and thrown into a dark pit of self-loathing. 

Tweek looked over at the taller boy out of the corner of his eye. He knew that Kenny felt like their deaths were his fault. Tweek never blamed him. It wasn't Kenny's fault. 

As the three finally started to wake up, Tweek nervously moved to hover by the wall, watching them. He chuckled slightly as Kenny floated above Craig with a cocky smirk. The surprised scream the dark haired boy let out made the two ghosts laugh.

"Hello there sleeping beauty."

"Kenny?"

"No, it's the queen." The blond laughed as Craig snatched back his chullo, using it to cover his red face, ignoring the sleepy groans of his friends. Kenny slipped his own cap back on, flicking it up slightly as it fell in his eyes, brushing his dirty blond hair out of his eye.

"Dude is there a little girl here?"

"Nah that's just your friend."

"Woh Kenny?" 

"Who else?" 

Tweek grinned as he watched the interaction between them. He was still nervous about them being in their home but they hadn't done anything wrong yet. Plus they were helping the two dead boys learn about the outside world.

"What's with your faces? You three look like you've seen a ghost." Kenny grinned widely, showing off the fact that he was missing a tooth. "Thanks for letting me do this, guys! It's been so long. It feels weird to be able to touch things again." He grabbed his cap, giving a mock bow to the three.

Kyle blinked. "You can touch things?"

"The prick stole my hat!" 

"Hey. You three were taking forever to wake up."

Stan looked around. "I'm guessing that's why all of our things are on the floor?"

Kenny shrugged, his eyes darting briefly over to Tweek, smiling when he got a thumbs up. His friend was still comfortable with being in the room.

Looking back at the three, he nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to see what sort of stuff you have. Your clothes are strange."

Craig rolled his eyes. "Thanks, McCormick. Your clothes look worse. They're outdated as fuck."

"I don't know if you've noticed but I'm kinda dead. So naturally, they'll be outdated." The sound of his friend's laughter made him look over at his fellow blond. Hearing Tweek laugh always made him happy. 

Seeing the ghost look over, the three teens decided to look, knowing that they most likely wouldn't see anything. Sure enough, nothing was there, but they could guess who Kenny was smiling at. 

Tweek looked at them nervously. Even if they couldn't hear or see him, the fact that they were staring at him felt uncomfortable. Well, only Stan was staring at him. The other two were staring at the wall.

A groan thankfully took the attention away from him. Craig huffed as he dug through his messed up things. "Did we remember food?"

"I was just going to buy breakfast." 

"Same." 

Craig sighed, digging out his own wallet. "Yeah okay. I may as well do the same." 

"Oh, shit are you guys already leaving?

Stan stood up. "I can always do a food run and come back. There's no point you getting a physical form only for us to fuck off straight away."

The other two teens nodded in agreement, smiling as Kenny grinned. They wanted to know more about their new friend and possibly about the other boy haunting the old hotel.

"Well hurry up and get us some pizza, Marsh." 

"Craig we're not having pizza for breakfast."


End file.
